FAI Opportunities

Wednesday, May. 29, 2013

Who would have predicted that the relationships Sarah Madden, an Economics student, formed on a field trip with FAI last summer would have led to an internship at the SHFB (Second Harvest Food Bank) this year?

Due to SHFB’s collaboration with FAI’s Cost of a Healthy Meal project, an internship program was created at SHFB for an engaged, interested Santa Clara student.

This internship provides students with an opportunity to work hands-on with clients of Second Harvest Food Bank and conduct surveys to determine information on who is in need of emergency food assistance and their circumstances.

The current focus of Sarah Madden’s SHFB internship is to assist Susan Takalo (Director of Programs and Services) and the Food Bank to distribute the Hunger Survey.

The Hunger Survey is conducted by Feeding America, and has been distributed every four years as a nation-wide survey to more than 61,000 clients and more than 37,000 local charitable agencies (kitchens, pantries, shelters). But this is the first year that the Hunger Survey has been conducted on a face-to-face basis.

Currently, Sarah Madden is the only SCU intern that works with Second Harvest Food Bank. Everyday Sarah learns new skills and experiences “in the field” work that have allowed her to step out of her comfort zone and challenge herself to evolve personally and professionally.

Furthermore, this internship solidified that Sarah wishes to pursue a career that focuses on domestic and/or international food security and agricultural development.

She has been working as a Second Harvest Food Bank intern since March 2013, and has loved the opportunities she has been exposed to so far!

Friday, Apr. 19, 2013

FAI is having it's second year of summer interns for the "Real Cost of a Healthy Meal Project"! The goal is to get 800 interviews by September!

The Food & Agribusiness Institute’s “Real Cost of a Healthy Meal” project is a long-term study started in 2011. Interns will research the ability of low-income individuals to purchase “healthy” foods by USDA guidelines with their food stamp allotments through interviews, diet analysis and food cost surveys. The internship will not only allow interns to improve their understanding of the links between public policy, economics, health and social justice, but it will also influence their ability to communicate, increase their working knowledge of Excel, and expose them to database software.